The Godfather is too morally compromised; it glamorises the Mob and is suspect for that reason. It's slick but morally empty. But it's a big, glossy Hollywood production, undoubtedly well-made, so everyone gives it an easy ride. Apocalypse Now is more complicated. It's impressive, but I get the feeling that Coppola had no idea what he was doing (the documentary Hearts of Darkness confirms this); there are longueurs, but it's more an intriguing oddity than a genuine masterpiece.

But The Conversation is something else altogether. It's not like a classical American movie at all. It's dark and bleak, like some eastern European film, and it follows the unravelling of a flawed man with total dedication. The final scenes are utterly devastating. It's Coppola's only masterpiece, as he understood exactly what he was doing. There, I've said it!

the masked man wrote:The Godfather is too morally compromised; it glamorises the Mob and is suspect for that reason. It's slick but morally empty. But it's a big, glossy Hollywood production, undoubtedly well-made, so everyone gives it an easy ride.

I REALLY disagree with this!

I’m not even sure that “morally compromised” (or not) is a terribly meaningful concept for me in determining a film’s value. But regardless - I don’t think The Godfather is even concerned with the notion of whether organized crime is glamorous or not. It takes an insular view of the Corleone family and uses them to make larger observations about America itself.

I judge it on those terms. It certainly holds up as a masterpiece to me.

Neither is it particularly 'glossy' or 'slick'. I mean these are the kind of adjectives you choose when you want to say something about the superficiality of Hollywood, but they don't seem very applicable here and so it seems quite a lazy critique. The cinematography in the film is actually quite dark and muted.